Worcestershire County Council's Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Panel will be provided with reports on a number of topics in their meeting on Tuesday 17 December 2024, including data about the number of children missing education in Worcestershire and the progress of the Valuing Care scheme. The Panel will also receive a report summarising its work programme and consider whether any changes are required.

Children Missing Education

The Panel will be asked to consider a report on the number of Children Missing Education in Worcestershire. The report will define the term 'Children Missing Education', and explain that

‘Children missing education are children of compulsory school age who are not registered pupils at a school and are not receiving suitable education otherwise than at a school.’

The report will explain that, once a child is confirmed to be on a school roll or receiving a suitable education, the CME definition no longer applies to them. The report will go on to explain the responsibilities of the Local Authority in relation to children missing education, and provide data about the number of children in the county thought to be missing education. It will then summarise the ways in which Worcestershire County Council attempts to fulfil its statutory duties in this regard, including close working relationships with other local authorities, government agencies, and the police. The report will also explain the ways in which Worcestershire County Council has attempted to improve its performance on this issue, including a new process introduced in September 2023 - the Children who Cannot Attend School (CCAS) process.

Valuing Care and Foster Carer Renumeration

Worcestershire County Council's Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Panel will be provided with an update on the authority's progress implementing the Valuing Care approach, which it adopted in order to attempt to improve matching between foster carers and children, and to improve foster carer recruitment and retention in the county. The report will explain that

Like many other local authorities across the country, Worcestershire has been facing significant challenges in relation to placement sufficiency within our fostering service. Overall, the picture for mainstream foster care placements is currently one of decline.

The report will then summarise the efforts made to date to implement the Valuing Care approach using the services of a consultancy called IMPOWER, and point to some early successes in re-homing children from residential care with foster families as a result. The report will then explain the ways in which Worcestershire County Council is attempting to improve its foster carer recruitment and retention, including advertising campaigns and the introduction of a new, specialist foster carer role.

Work Programme

The Panel will be asked to consider a report on its Work Programme for 2024/25, which lists the topics that the panel has chosen to scrutinise. It will discuss whether any amendments are required to that programme. The work programme includes topics such as the performance of schools in Worcestershire, the provision of home to school transport, and the impact of screen time on mental health. The Panel will also be asked to consider whether there are any urgent issues it needs to discuss.